Dispelling the myth that leaders are born, not made

Those who have truly mastered the skills of being a leader make it look like it comes naturally to them.

However, for the majority of successful leaders, this is a skill that they’ve learned, cultivated and mastered over time, says Ian Symes, General Manager for the UK at Right Management.

He debates the existence of the conventional wisdom that leaders are born and not made: “For businesses and HR, getting their head around this idea and dispelling the myth will give them a far greater pool of potential leaders for their organisations – especially if they are able to develop talent. This will help to avoid missing those employees that could become great leaders, but who need help developing their capabilities.

“In addition, it will prevent stagnating the progress of leaders who have perhaps mastered a lot of the necessary skills by assuming that they simply have a natural talent, and therefore don’t need further learning opportunities.